Dental implant therapy continues to grow in popularity. One implant procedure that is receiving widespread praise among consumers is known as the TeethXpress®, full mouth dental implant procedure. Patients can enter a dental office with teeth that are in poor condition, infected or missing, and in a matter of three to four hours have a completely new set of teeth supported by dental implants that look and feel great. But if the procedure costs $25,000 or more, how can it be affordable? If this is your concern, you’ll benefit from reading this article. We’ll share examples of what affordable dental implant treatment plans look like.
Note: The information shared here is not intended to be advice for you. As with any meaningful financial decision, you are advised to speak with a financial planner before moving forward.
How Brenda paid for her full mouth dental implant procedure
Brenda is a 57-year-old factory worker. She enjoys her work and earns an annual salary of $65,000. Brenda is a single mom with two children, ages 22 and 24. Her 22-year-old recently graduated from college and relocated, making Brenda an empty nester.
Brenda’s teeth have been falling apart for some time now but she has always put her girls’ needs ahead of her own even though she experiences pain in her mouth when she eats certain coarse foods. She has been informed that she has advanced periodontal disease and that the remaining teeth in her upper jaw should be removed and replaced with dental implants.
Brenda was given two implant treatment options. Option 1: TeethXpress, full mouth, dental implant procedure. This procedure allows the implant teeth to be fixed in place so that only a dentist can remove them. This option is the most preferred and, at $25,000, is the most expensive.
Option 2 is a dental implant-supported denture as seen in Figure 1. This option is designed to snap in and out of the mouth by the patient. The fee Brenda was presented for the implant-supported denture is $17,000.
Having mostly set her needs aside for the sake of her children, Brenda decided that it was now time to do something nice for herself. Besides, she had begun to realize that her diet was starting to suffer since she could no longer chew several healthy foods.
Brenda chose the less expensive implant treatment, Option 2 for $17,000. It would be a financial sacrifice but with both of her children all grown up, she figured, “what better time than now?”
Consider how Brenda went about making her dental implant procedure affordable:
| Payment method | Funding amounts | |
| 1. | Dental insurance | $1,100 |
| 2. | Health FSA plan | $2,000 |
| 3. | Health installment loan (Proceed Finance) | $13,900 |
| 4. | Total | $17,000 |
One year later, after receiving her new set of teeth — now supported by dental implants — Brenda is pain-free when she eats. Budget-wise, she was able to subsidize her treatment with a combined $3,100 from dental insurance and a Flexible Spending Account (FSA).
Brenda applied for a health installment loan by Proceed Finance at her surgeon’s office. Once approved, she financed the difference of $13,900 to be paid back over a six-year period. At a 6.9-percent interest rate, Brenda can expect her monthly payments to be about $236 for this loan.
She snaps her teeth into place at the beginning of each day and never worries whether they are stable. She enjoys smiling again and her daughters are ecstatic for her happiness!
How Michael paid for his full mouth dental implant procedure
Michael is a 60-year-old landscaper. He earns an annual salary of about $54,000 and hopes to retire in the next few years. He saw a dentist about three years ago for an implant consultation but put off treatment for various reasons. Recently his partial denture broke beyond repair, so he decided to stop procrastinating and give his mouth the attention he knew it needed.
Michael went in for a complete oral examination and implant consultation. He received a new CBCT scan so the surgeon could determine if he was still a good candidate for dental implants. Fortunately, Michael had adequate jawbone and received confirmation that he could move forward with implants.
Michael was presented with two options. Option 1 was for a TeethXpress full mouth dental implant procedure, as seen in Figure 2. As mentioned previously, this option would allow his implant-supported teeth to be fixed in place.
The TeethXpress option would also look and feel the closest to natural teeth. But for $27,000, this option is the most expensive. Replacement of his broken partial denture with another partial denture was presented as Option 2 and would only cost Michael $1,700.
Michael opted for Option 1, the higher-priced TeethXpress implant procedure. He didn’t want to deal with the likelihood of a partial needing to be replaced again in another four or five years. He also never liked the feeling of food becoming trapped under his partial denture when he ate.
Let’s look at how Michael went about making his dental implant procedure affordable:
| Payment method | Funding amounts | |
| 1. | Cash (from personal savings) | $5,000 |
| 2. | Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC) | $22,000 |
| 4. | Total | $27,000 |
Four months after completing his treatment, Michael is over the moon with his TeethXpress implant procedure. It took him a while to get used to no longer having to take his teeth out and clean them after each meal.
Michael already had HELOC funds available from a major home improvement purchase he had made more than 15 years ago and since paid off. At a 5.9-percent interest rate on the borrowed $22,000, he plans to pay $425 each month so he can pay off his implant procedure in five years. Michael says he can’t stop smiling!
How Fay paid for her full mouth dental implant procedure
Fay is a 76-year-old retired English teacher. With the exception of some age-related joint stiffness, she is in good health. Fay and her husband live on modest fixed incomes. For most of her adult life, Fay has struggled with keeping her teeth healthy.
Five years ago, she decided to have her remaining lower teeth pulled and replaced with a traditional removable denture. Fay’s lower denture has never been very stable and has become much worse in the past year. She complains that denture glue has become increasingly ineffective. Fay only wears her lower denture when she is out in public.
In search of a solution, Fay scheduled an examination with her dentist. The CBCT scan showed that Fay’s jawbone was receding, as seen in Figure 3. (Jawbone loss is a common occurrence with denture wearers.) The shrinkage in her jawbone was causing Fay’s denture to become looser with time.
Fay was informed that dental implants would be her best solution. She also learned that the TeethXpress, full mouth, dental implant procedure would stop the rapid bone loss, and the implants would completely stabilize a new set of teeth. This would allow Fay to eat anything she chooses without her lower teeth becoming loose when she bites.
The TeethXpress procedure was presented to her at a cost of $26,000. Longing to chew food adequately once again, Fay discussed it with her husband and together they decided that this proposed solution was well worth the investment.
Consider how Fay ended up making her TeethXpress dental implant procedure affordable:
| Payment method | Funding amounts | |
| 1. | Credit card (18-month interest-free promotion) | $4,000 |
| 2. | 403(b) Retirement fund withdraw (penalty-free) | $22,000 |
| 4. | Total | $26,000 |
Fay spoke with a couple of her credit card companies to see if there were any interest-free promotions available. It turned out that one of her credit cards was offering an interest-free promotion for up to 18 months. She decided to place $4,000 of the total cost on her credit card and pay it off over the next year and a half.
Fay spoke with a couple of her credit card companies to see if there were any interest-free promotions available. It turned out that one of her credit cards was offering an interest-free promotion for up to 18 months. She decided to place $4,000 of the total cost on her credit card and pay it off over the next year and a half.
For the remaining $22,000, Fay spoke with her financial planner who informed her that since she is over the age of 59-and-a-half, she is eligible to withdraw this portion from her 403(b)-retirement plan, penalty-free. Today, Fay is happy with her dental implant-supported teeth and wishes that she had made this decision long ago!
If dental implant therapy has been recommended to you and you are concerned with managing its cost, speak with a financial planner first. Do what Brenda, Michael and Fay did. Consider your available resources. You may find that its costs are not insurmountable. You are also likely to discover that the ability to smile with complete confidence and eat from a wide variety of food choices, made possible by dental implants, is quite priceless!
